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Borris, at his heaviest, was not alone. The worldwide prevalence of pet obesity lies between 22% and 44%, and rates seem to be rising. The reasons why are fairly predictable. Owners of overweight dogs feed them more snacks and table scraps, are more likely to have their pets present as they prepare their own meals and are less likely to walk them daily. Owners of obese cats tend to use food as a reward and play with them less. If a dog owner is obese, the chances are their pet will be too (this doesn’t apply to cats).

But obesity also seems to be occurring even in some domestic and wild animals who aren’t being overfed or under-exercised. If these findings are true, something else must be driving obesity and uncovering those could help tackle our own epidemic with the condition.

Pudgy dogs die more than two-and-a-half years earlier than pets of a healthy weight, a study of 20 years of veterinary records has shown.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool examined the lifespan of 50,000 dogs from 12 popular breeds taken to 900 Banfield Pet Hospitals in the US between 1994 and 2015. They discovered that in all breeds being overweight reduced longevity, from a minimum of five months in German Shepherds to two years and six months for male Yorkshire Terriers.

Dogs that are overweight are more likely to suffer problems such as joint disease, breathing issues, and cancer, as well as having a poorer quality of life, which could impact lifespan, researchers believe.

According to new studies, excess body weight is an established cause of cancer, currently known to be linked to 13 cancers.A new study looking at the share of cancers related to obesity finds the proportion of cancer cases that could be attributable to excess body weight reflects variations in obesity rates in the U.S.

On days when Americans eat out, they scarf an average of 200 more calories than when they eat at home, according to a study of more than 12,500 people published by Public Health Nutrition in 2015. Furthermore, government research reveals that “when eating out, people either eat more or eat higher calorie foods — or both — and that this tendency appears to be increasing” and additional studies have found that dining out is associated with obesity and more body fat.

A woman has pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend by stabbing him, hitting him with a table leg and crushing him under the weight of her roughly 300 pounds.Windi Thomas, of Erie, faces a sentence of 18 to 36 years after pleading guilty to third-degree murder. She had been scheduled for trial next week, but instead will be sentenced on Dec. 21.The 44-year-old Thomas admitted killing Keeno Butler last March, partially by lying on top of him. Thomas weighs about 300 pounds, while the 44-year-old Butler weighed about 120 pounds.

Thomas was reportedly drunk and wanted to smoke crack when the pair got into an argument that ended in Butler’s death.

“If you can’t get in shape in 24 months, then maybe you should hit the road,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told defense reporters last month, reports Military.com. “We don’t want to lose thousands of soldiers to [the ACFT]. This fitness test is hard. No one should be under any illusions about it.”While such words might sound harsh, Milley was quick to explain that a soldier’s level of physical fitness has a direct impact on his or her combat readiness.

“We really don’t want to lose soldiers on the battlefield,” he continues. “We don’t want young men and women to get killed in action because they weren’t fit.”

According to the survey of 2,000 adults, which was commissioned by Herbalife Nutrition, 45 percent of respondents plan on holding off from plans to eat healthier or lose weight until 2019. In fact, the average American will put on an extra six pounds from chowing down on holiday food. Conversely, the study found just 12 percent will get past the holidays avoiding weight gain.

Couch Potato Nation: Nearly half of Americans sit for far too many hours a day and don’t get any exercise at all, a new study finds. A survey of some 5,900 adults found that nearly 26 percent sit for more than eight hours a day, 45 percent don’t get any moderate or vigorous exercise during the week, and about 11 percent sit more than eight hours a day and are physically inactive.

“Being sedentary increases the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and dying early,” said lead author Emily Ussery.

She is an epidemiologist at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ussery pointed out that sitting may not be bad in itself, but is a proxy for not getting enough exercise.

Study co-author Peter Katzmarzyk added, “In recent years, we have begun to understand the health hazards of excessive sitting.”

Although all the reasons why prolonged sitting is unhealthy aren’t known, Katzmarzyk speculates that “when people sit, they deactivate the large muscles in their legs, and this has a host of metabolic consequences that seem to be harmful.”

But just how much fitness trackers contribute — if at all — to better health and lower health care spending isn’t yet known. Among the studies that cast doubt on their effectiveness is one published in 2016 by the University of Pittsburgh. That research found young adults who used fitness trackers in the study lost less weight than those in a control group who self-reported their exercise and diet.